The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1887-06-16
EpUUArToN NO. VI.
Shall Not an EnOrt be made to Improvs
Our schools f--Evenine schoOIs sad
Failure--R Rational Management

Shall Not an E1ort be made TO Improve
Our Schools 4--Evenine schoOIs a sad
Failure--Rational Management
MR.. EDITOR Citizens Of Canton, who
may have followed my line OF thought
thus far In these articles. will no doubt
nave observed, that my sole object Is to
awaken public sentiment with q view
90 improving our schools. know OF
no intelligent resident Of Canton who
does not admit the necessity.
In number v ! gave an account Of
what was accomplished In Quincy, Mas
sachusetts. Why cannot we have some
thing Of the kind done In Cant0np Why
o Tmit this state Of things to cOntiDueY
Why not have an awakening2 With
our grand school buildings let Us have
improved school work Who will say
nay to thlsp
This unsatisfactory condition, with
results equally unsatisfactory, has al
most worn out the patience Of our peO
| pie. In proof Of the backward state Oi
1 general scholarship In Canton, / need
nnIy again advert to the fact that Q
very large majority Of our youth leave
school before they have acQu red a gOot
practical knowledge Of the common
brRnchesl This has been going on for
years and still continues Good citizens
Of Canton have long waited, in vain
for improvement These good citizens
n. wing waited thus long. and In vain
begin to despair Shall not remedial
effort be madep Is 1t not timer
II these youth, who thus leave school
many Of them In disgust, were after
wards attracted by good evening schools
for about half Of each year, until RrOwU
up, some amends could be made. Blu
our repeated attemptsat evening schools
have proved also sad failures. Not q re
deeming feature has come from tha
quarter, to relieve the darkne3el Thit
darkness, however, is visible, and appaT
ent, to many Of the good citizens Of
Canton, sufficiently so ito point &
moral, and In time, perhaps, lead to al
awskening and Improvement.
AS nations are more ready to par
with the essentials than the form OF
liberty; 80 do we seem to be holding OF
to the forms, and negleoting the es en-.
tials Of good genera education, Let u
not be too long and too much dazzled
with mere forms and costly edifices, and
lose sight Of these important essentials
Assuredly, we are In highly progress.
siVe state Of improvement these days
but have yet much to learn. Each new
discovery but lights the way to another
Discussion and investigation continue
to elucidate. and scatter sparks of intel
leetual light. Our public schools should
properly aid in this great work, spread
ing truth, and refreshing the nations
with day spring from on high"
II have hOTe," said the great Leibnitz
that society may be reformed, when
see how much education may be re-
formed" 1t Is with view Of aiding IL
this reform that have ventured on thil
line, and intruded upon the public thest
articles. know not that they wilrd(
any good, but they have served to relieve
the writer. Says an eminent American
author: whilst we all know In our OWL
experience and apply natural method
In our own business, In education OuI
common sense falls US, and we are con
tinually trying costly machinery
against nature, In patent schools anC
academies, and In great colleges aut
universitiesP
Some one has said that q man never
knows anything until he has taught II
In some way; 1t may be orally, or Il may
be by writing q book. This Is on tht
principle that knowledge Is not kn0Vl
edge until we use 1t. The school room Ii
a grand mental workshop, for the stu
dent teacher, as we'll as for the pupil.
Our school system aims to give equali
ty of opportunity In education, so tina,
our people may approach more and mOrl
to equality, In intelligence and condi
tion. Let US help on this great ant
noble cause. Let our schools be school
In fact. Let our teachers, teach; that's
instruct.
/ have wondered If public schools gen
kerally, In towns thTC ughOut our Stat
and country, are run In rUt similar Il
that Of our Canton schools, as to classic
\ cation and outside requirements. Also
If the same general negligence as to thu
reading Of our English tongue prevails
II 80, let US weep for this much abused
nd little appreciated grand Englist
tongue. In this magnificent Language
structure are enshFined and exhibited
the '0fty thoughts and genius of Shak
speare, Milton and ethers. Is 1t MOI
worthy of our high regard? Who thai
knows will hesitate to ayp-Yes, verify
The youth In our schools are entitled
10 rational management and proper at
tention; to have their Individual power
and capacities considered, and their del
Icate senslbillties regarded. Teacher
little know the jowels they have IL
barge, nor properly consider the i'm
pOrtance Of their work. Herbert Spen
cer says, Had there been no teaching
hut such as ia given In our public
schools, England would now be what 1
was In feudal times" And he adds
The vital knowledge, that by whiel
We have grown as nation to what VI
are, and which now uHderlles our who'll
existence, is a knowledge that has 90
Itself taught In hooks and cOrners,whil
the ordained agencies for teaching haV
been mumbling little else than deat
formulas" How the world adheres t,
''dead iormulRs"l tod
And here in Canton there i5 little
honest, genuine teaching work done IL
the school room compared to what Their
should be. Practises disc0uraglng t
the pupils, siHce they are required tt
come to school with lessons got ant
problems solved, are persisted In, wheI
these same pupils, like infants begin
4 ming to walk, should be led gently b.
the hand or directed step by step, where
. and how to gol Is 1t any wonder pupill
at last despair and Quitp May we not
with suoh results, pronounce the public
school system In Canton an expensive